Editing Sumerian language (section)

====== Case markers ======
The generally recognized case markers are:<ref>Rubio (2007: 1329), Foxvog (2016: 59), Thomsen (2001: 88), Jagersma (2010: 137), Zólyomi (2017: 40)</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!case
!ending
!most common spelling<ref>Here and in the following, vowel-initial morphemes are denoted in parentheses with the cuneiform sign for the corresponding vowel-initial syllable, but in actual spelling, signs for consonant-vowel sequences are typically used after consonant-final stems.</ref>
!approximate English equivalents and function<ref>Jagersma (2010: 137-188, 428-441)</ref>
|-
|[[absolutive case|absolutive]]
|/-Ø/ 
|
|[[Intransitive verb|intransitive]] subject or [[Transitive verb|transitive]] object
|-
|[[ergative case|ergative]]
|/-e/{{efn|As is generally the case with the vowel -/e/, the vowel of the ergative ending can contract with a preceding vowel, lengthening it: ''lu<sub>2</sub>-e'' > 𒇽𒅇 ''lu<sub>2</sub>-u<sub>3</sub>'' "man (erg.)". In early texts, the length of the vowel isn't marked at all, leaving the ending with no reflection in the spelling.}} (primarily with animates){{efn|According to Jagersma, this is a tendency due to semantic reasons, but not a strict rule of the language.<ref>Jagersma (2010: 154)</ref>}}
|(𒂊 ''-e'')
|transitive subject
|-
|[[allative case|directive]]{{Efn|Also known traditionally as the "locative-terminative".<ref>Thomsen (2001: 95), Foxvog (2016: 84)</ref> It has been pointed out that the term "directive" is misleading, since this Sumerian case simply expresses contiguity, which may or may ''not'' be the result of movement in a certain direction. Based on its meaning, it could be called [[adessive]],<ref>Attinger (2009: 28)</ref> but it ''can'' also express the destination of a movement, making the meaning [[allative]].<ref name=zolyomi_inessive>Zólyomi (2017: 203)</ref> Similarly, the Sumerian locative expresses internal location both as a stative condition ([[inessive]] meaning) or as the result of a movement ([[illative]] meaning).<ref name=zolyomi_inessive/>}}
|/-e/ (only with inanimates){{efn|With animates, the dative is usually used instead.<ref>Zólyomi (2017: 40)</ref>}}
|(𒂊 ''-e'')
|"in(to) contact with", "at", "upon", "for", "as for"; [[Causative|causee]]
|-
|[[genitive case|genitive]]
|/-a(k)/, /-(k)/{{efn|The final consonant /k/ appears only in front of a following vowel (in the spelling, and at least by Ur III times in pronunciation as well<ref name=jagersma140/>); see the section on ''Consonants'' above for this phenomenon. Thus, we find 𒈗𒆷 ''lugal-la'' for {lugal-ak} "of the king", but 𒈗𒆷𒄰 ''lugal-la-kam'' for {lugal-ak-am} "(it) is of the king". Moreover, if /k/ is preserved, the preceding vowel often seems to be omitted at least in writing, especially after /l/, /m/, /n/, /r/, /s/, /š/ and /ḫ/: 𒈗𒄰 ''lugal-kam''.<ref>Sallaberger (2023: 43)</ref> Conversely, the initial vowel /a/ of the genitive marker appears to be dropped or assimilated after a preceding stem-final vowel in [[content words]]: e.g. {dumu-ak} is written simply 𒌉 ''dumu'', presumably standing for */dumu(k)/.<ref name=Foxvog39/> The same appears to happen after the plural marker 𒂊𒉈 ''-e-ne'' and the plural possessive pronominal enclitics 𒈨 ''-me'' "our", 𒍪𒉈𒉈 ''-zu-ne-ne'' "your (pl.)" and (𒀀/𒂊)𒉈𒉈 ''-a/e-ne-ne'' "their", so that the sequences of these morphemes and the genitive end in -/e(k)/. However, there is some disagreement on the treatment of content words and the nature of the whole process; see the following footnote on this matter. Finally, the genitive marker occasionally seems to be simply omitted in writing,<ref name=jagersma140/> especially after a fricative.<ref>Jagersma (2010: 145)</ref>}}{{efn|In front of the vowel /a/ of the genitive marker -/ak/ and the locative marker /a/, the possessive pronominal enclitics 𒈬 ''-g̃u<sub>10</sub>'' "my", 𒍪 ''-zu'' "your (sing.)", 𒉌 ''-ni'' "his/her" and 𒁉''-bi'' "its" are contracted and/or assimilated, so that they appear as 𒂷 ''-g̃a<sub>2</sub>'', 𒍝 ''-za'', 𒈾 ''-na'' and 𒁀 ''-ba'', respectively. In contrast, these case markers do not cause the loss of the final /e/ in the plural marker 𒂊𒉈 ''-e-ne'' and in the plural possessive pronominal enclitics 𒈨 ''-me'' "our", 𒍪𒉈𒉈 ''-zu-ne-ne'' "your (pl.)" and (𒀀/𒂊)𒉈𒉈 ''-a/e-ne-ne'' "their". In the case of the genitive, the -/a/ of the case marker is elided instead, so that the genitive sequence ends in -/e(k)/.<ref name="Foxvog39">Foxvog (2016: 39-40)</ref><ref name="jagersma140">Jagersma (2010: 140-142, 173-174)</ref> There is some evidence that the stem-final vowel was also dropped in some ''content'' words under unclear circumstances, but that this was obscured by the spelling.<ref name="jagersma140" /> With respect to the genitive, Jagersma tentatively suggests and Zólyomi (2017: 42-43) concurs that the variation in both content words and enclitics was determined by vowel length: a preceding short vowel generally assimilated to the /a/ and the product was a long /aː/, whereas a preceding long vowel (as in the plural marker, which they believe to have been pronounced -/eneː/) caused dropping of the following /a/.}}
|(𒀀 ''-a'')
|"of"
|-
|[[Equative case|equative]]
|/-gin/
|𒁶 -''gen<sub>7</sub>'' 
|"as", "like"
|-
|[[dative case|dative]]
|/-r(a)/{{efn|The allomorph -/r/ is used after vowels. In early texts, it may not be expressed at all. Alternatively, the alternation may be ignored in the spelling, so that ''-ra'' is written even after vowels.<ref>Jagersma (2010: 161-163)</ref> Additionally, in the Ur III period, ''-a'' may occur instead of ''-ra'' after possessive pronominal enclitics or the genitive marker.<ref>Jagersma (2010: 177-178)</ref>}} (only with animates){{efn|With inanimates, the directive is usually used instead.<ref>Zólyomi 2017: 40</ref>}}
|𒊏 ''-ra'' 
|"to", "for", "upon", [[Causative|causee]]
|-
|[[terminative case|terminative]]{{Efn|The meaning is not necessarily "up to" or "until" as with a terminative case, but rather expresses a general direction, so this case could have been called [[directive case|directive]].}}
|/-(e)š(e)/{{efn|The allomorph -/š/ is used after vowels. In early texts, it may not be expressed graphically at all. Alternatively, the alternation may be ignored in the spelling, so that ''-še<sub>3</sub>'' is written even after vowels.<ref>Jagersma (2010: 180-182)</ref>}}
|𒂠 ''-še<sub>3</sub>'' 
|"to", "towards", "for", "until", "in exchange (for)", "instead if", "as for", "because of"
|-
|[[comitative case|comitative]]
|/-d(a)/{{efn|Although the marker is never written with a sign for VC, it seems likely that there was an allomorph -/d/ used after vowels, leading to the dative marker remaining unwritten in this position in early texts.<ref>Jagersma (2010: 196-200)</ref>}} 
|𒁕 ''-da'' 
|"(together) with", "because of (an emotion)"
|-
|[[locative case|locative]]{{Efn|Unlike the Indo-European locative cases, the Sumerian locative can express not only a static location, but also the direction of a movement; the key feature is that the spatial meaning is [[inessive]] ("in") or [[superessive]] ("on").<ref name=zolyomi_inessive/>}}
|/-a/{{efn|Jagersma believes that, like the nominalizing enclitic, this marker originally began in a glottal stop (/ʔa/).<ref>Jagersma (2010: 38-39)</ref> The glottal stop, in his view, later assimilated to the preceding consonant and caused it to be geminated.<ref name="Jagersma 2010: 38">Jagersma (2010: 38)</ref>}} (only with inanimates){{efn|With animates, the corresponding case in some constructions is the dative.<ref name="Jeger2">Jagersma (2010: 439)</ref>}}
|(𒀀 ''-a'')
|"in/into", "on/onto", "about", "by means of", "with (a certain material)"
|-
|[[ablative case|ablative]] (only with inanimates){{efn|With animates, the construction 𒆠...(𒀀)𒋫 /ki X-a(k)-ta/, lit. "from the place of X" is used.<ref>Jagersma (2010: 193)</ref>}}
|/-ta/ 
|𒋫 ''-ta'' 
|"from", "since", "by (means of)", "in addition to"/"with", distributive ("each")
|}

The final vowels of most of the above markers are subject to loss if they are attached to vowel-final words.

In addition, there are the enclitic particles 𒈾𒀭𒈾 ''na-an-na'' meaning "without"<ref>Edzard (2003: 158-159)</ref> and (𒀀)𒅗𒉆 ''(-a)-ka-nam'' -/akanam/ (in earlier Sumerian) or (𒀀)𒆤𒌍 ''(-a)-ke<sub>4</sub>-eš<sub>2</sub>'' -/akeš/ "because of" (in later Sumerian).<ref>Jagersma (2010: 615-617)</ref>

Note that these nominal cases enter interact with the so-called ''dimensional prefixes'' of the verb that the noun modifies, producing additional meanings. While the dative and directive are in [[complementary distribution]] in the noun, they can nevertheless be distinguished when the verbal prefixes are taken into account. Likewise, whereas the meanings [[Inessive case|"in(to)"]] and [[Superessive case|"on(to)"]] are expressed by the same nominal case, they can be disambiguated by the verbal prefixes. This is explained in more detail in the section on ''[[#Dimensional prefixes|Dimensional prefixes]].''

Additional spatial or temporal meanings can be expressed by genitive phrases like "at the head of" = "above", "at the face of" = "in front of", "at the outer side of" = "because of", etc.:

{{interlinear|bar udu ḫad-ak-a|outer.side sheep white-GEN-LOC|"because of a white sheep"
| top = 𒁇𒇻𒌓𒅗 <br />
<small>bar udu ḫad<sub>2</sub>-ka</small>
| indent = 4
| glossing = link
}}

The [[center embedding|embedded]] structure of the noun phrase can be further illustrated with the following phrase:

{{interlinear|sipad udu siki-(a)k-ak-ene|shepherd sheep wool-GEN-GEN-PL.AN|"shepherds of woolly sheep"
| top = 𒉺𒇻𒇻𒋠𒅗𒆤𒉈<br />
<small>sipad udu siki-ka-ke<sub>4</sub>-ne</small>
| indent = 4
| glossing = link
}}

Here, the first genitive morpheme (''-a(k)'') subordinates 𒋠 ''siki'' "wool" to 𒇻 ''udu'' "sheep", and the second subordinates 𒇻𒋠 ''udu siki-(a)k'' "sheep of wool" (or "woolly sheep") to 𒉺𒇻 ''sipad'' "shepherd".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zólyomi |first1=Gábor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jQruCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 |title=Copular Clauses and Focus Marking in Sumerian |date=2014 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-040169-1 |editor1-last=Grzegorek |editor1-first=Katarzyna |page=8 |access-date=21 July 2016 |editor2-last=Borowska |editor2-first=Anna |editor3-last=Kirk |editor3-first=Allison}}</ref>